Human relationships registering system and device for registering human relationships, program for registering human relationships, and medium storing human relationships registering program and readable by computer

ABSTRACT

To provide a human relationships registering system, a method and a server for registering human relationships, a program for registering human relationships, and a medium storing human relationships registering program and readable by a computer, all of which are used to establish wide and close relationships with members having a variety of occupations or engaged in various technical fields and to obtain expert knowledge or information. The human relationships registering system comprises first data processing units  2  and  3  including sections for receiving personal data of a new member, and a second data processing unit including a section for storing the received personal data. The second data processing unit stores the personal data of the new member in correlation to an existing member when the existing member confirms the new member.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/581,184 filed Dec. 23, 2014, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/139,926 filed Dec. 24, 2013, which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/435,751 (now U.S. Pat. No.8,645,427) filed Mar. 30, 2012, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 12/916,108 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,150,881) filed onOct. 29, 2010, which is a division of U.S. application Ser. No.12/711,731 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,941,447) filed Feb. 24, 2010, which is adivision of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/265,413 (now U.S. Pat. No.7,707,172) filed Nov. 5, 2008, which is a continuation application ofU.S. application Ser. No. 11/073,524 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,493,342),filed Mar. 8, 2005, which is a division of U.S. application Ser. No.09/978,030 filed Oct. 17, 2001 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,879,985 issued Apr.12, 2005), which is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromJapanese Patent Application Nos. 2000-316496 filed on Oct. 17, 2000 and2001-311528 filed on Oct. 9, 2001, the entire contents of each of whichare incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a human relationships registering system, amethod and a server for registering human relationships, a program forregistering human relationships, and a medium storing humanrelationships registering program and readable by a computer, all ofwhich are used to establish wide and close human relationships.

2. Description of the Related Art

Up to now, there has been no efficient system or method which is usablein order to get acquainted with specialists in various particular fieldsand obtain expert knowledge or information.

Each person has been required to make every effort in order to establishwide and close relationships with a great number of people. There hasbeen no system which actively supports such a person.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

The present invention is intended to provide a human relationshipsregistering system, a method and a server for registering humanrelationships, a program for registering human relationships, and amedium for storing human relationships registering program and readableby a computer, all of which are used to establish wide and close humanrelationships.

Further, the invention aims at providing a human relationshipsregistering system, a method and a server for registering humanrelationships, a program for registering human relationships, and amedium storing human relationships registering program and readable by acomputer, all of which are used to establish wide and closerelationships with specialists in various particular fields and obtainexpert knowledge or information.

Means to Solve the Problems

In order to accomplish the foregoing object of the invention, there isprovided a human relationships registering system comprising:

to a first data processing unit including a section for inputtingpersonal data of new members;

and a second data processing unit including a section for storing thepersonal data of the new members, and storing the personal data of thenew members by confirming relationships of the new members with existingmembers and correlating the new members with the existing members.

With the foregoing system, new members are not registered until they areconfirmed by existing members, so that it is possible to maintainreliable human relationships between members. Further, new members arecorrelated to existing members, which enable members to know theirrelationships with one another and create their own human relationshipsdata. A personal computer or a server computer is applicable as a dataprocessing unit in order to easily create human relationships data of agreat number of members.

A further human relationships registering system comprises a first dataprocessing unit connected to the Internet and having an input section,and a second data processing unit connected to the first data processingunit via the Internet, registering names of members received via theinput section and storing data concerning the members. The data of newmembers received via the first data processing unit are confirmed byexisting members, and are registered thereafter. The second dataprocessing unit stores the new members in correlation with the existingmembers.

In this system, the first and second data processing units are providedat different locations and are connected via the Internet, which enablesa number of members can gain access to the processing units from anylocation in order to register themselves. Therefore, this system is veryconvenient to use.

In the foregoing case, new members may be registered after they confirmtheir own data.

It is preferable to store data concerning occupations of new members tobe registered. This is effective in enabling members to know specialistsin various particular fields and obtain expert knowledge or information.In short, human relationships data are usable as one of effectivemeasures for carrying out business activities.

It is preferable to store relationships coefficients representingdegrees of relationships between particular members who agree toestablish human relationships therebetween, and store relationshipscoefficients of members who are related to the members who agree toestablish human relationships. The relationships coefficients may beeffective in establishing wide and close relationships between membersin a variety of technical fields, and promoting personal influences andcontribution to the society.

Relationships between members can be objectively known on the basis ofthe relationships coefficients.

It is preferable to get agreement between existing members usinge-mails. For this purpose, e-mails may be exchanged between members whenit is necessary to establish relationships between them. In such a case,members may get acquainted with other members even when they do not knowof one another directly. This is effective in increasing therelationships coefficients.

The first data processing unit has a display to indicate a number ofmembers and personal data thereof. The display shows human relationshipsdata between members out of basic data in which new members arecorrelated with existing members. When a particular member is specifiedby the input section of the first data processing unit, the displaypreferably shows the specified member in such a manner that it iscorrelated to particular existing members.

A method of registering human relationships comprises a first dataprocessing step for connecting to the Internet and receiving data viathe Internet, and a second data processing step for registering aplurality of members' names received in the first data processing stepand storing personal data of the members. In the second data processingstep, data of a new member received via the Internet are registeredafter referring them back to an existing member, so that the newmember's data are stored as basic data in correlation with the existingmember.

This method is easily and effectively applicable to and used by thehuman relationships registering system which operates via the Internet.

In the foregoing method, new members are preferably registered afterthey confirm their own data. Further, it is preferable to store dataconcerning occupations, technical fields and so on of the new members.Still further, when relationships are established between existingmembers upon their agreement, it is preferable to store relationshipscoefficients therebetween and relationships coefficients of membersrelated to the existing members. The agreement between particularexisting members is preferably reached by exchanging-mails.

The registered human relationships data are preferably used in thefollowing steps:

creating human relationships data on the basis of basic data in which aplurality of members are correlated; indicating personal data ofmembers;

and indicating the created human relationships data.

In this case, it is preferable to select a particular member in thefirst data processing step, and to indicate members who are correlatedto the selected particular member as well as human relationships data.

In order to use the registered human relationships data, a member inputshis or her identification code in the first data inputting step. Onceidentified, the member is allowed to gain access to his or herregistration and personal data. This prevents the foregoing data frombeing infinitely retrieved by members, and protects the data.

As another way of using the registered data, a member may specify aparticular occupation and/or technical field in order to indicatemembers classified in the specified occupation and/or technical field.Therefore, the member can easily retrieve data of the desired membersout of the human relationships data.

In a still further way of using the registered data in whichrelationships coefficients between members are stored, a memberspecifies a particular member in the first data processing step, andindicates not only the human relationships data of the specified memberbut also those of the members correlated to the specified member and therelationships coefficients between the indicated members. This enablesthe member to easily know the relationships between the members and therelationships coefficients between them. In this case, it is alsopossible to indicate the members with a particular occupation and/or ina particular technical field, and the members correlated to theforegoing members. It is also possible to indicate the members havingthe relationships coefficients above a certain value. Therefore, themember can easily find desired members.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendantadvantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 schematically shows how a human relationships registering systemis constituted via a general communication line such as an Internet.

FIG. 2 is a schematic human relationships diagram created by the humanrelationships registering system.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a Web page used for entering the Web siteoffered by the human relationships registering system.

FIG. 4 shows an example of Web page used for registering a personal dataof a new member at the human relationships registering system.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a Web page that an existing member uses forconfirming a personal data of a new member.

FIG. 6 shows an example of Web page used for retrieving data in thehuman relationships registering system.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a Web page used for indicating retrieveddata.

FIG. 8 is another schematic human relationships diagram created by thehuman relationships registering system.

FIG. 9 is a graph showing relationships coefficient between memberswhich are stored in the server 1.

FIG. 10 shows an example of personal data stored in the server 1.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

2, 3 personal computers as first data processing units

1 server as a second data processing unit

4 Internet

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designateidentical or corresponding parts throughout the several views.

The invention will be described with respect to a human relationshipsregistering system shown in the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1schematically shows that this system is constituted using the Internet.

Referring to FIG. 1, members are accessible via the Internet 4 to aserver 1 as a second data processing unit from their personal computers2 and 3 as first data processing units. Each personal computer comprisesa computer body, an input section such as a keyboard, mouse and so on, adisplay, a memory such as a RAM, a hard disc, and so on. The server 1 issimilar to the personal computer. The personal computer may include aprinter in order to print data.

The server 1 provides a Web site for constituting the humanrelationships registering system, stores names and personal data ofregistered members, and has a database for retrieving the names andpersonal data of the registered members. The Web site of the server 1 isassigned an address for the Internet 4.

Each of the personal computers 2 and 3 stores a browser in the storagesuch as a hard disc in order to perform communications via the Internet4. The personal computer 2 or 3 activates the browser and specifies anaddress, thereby connecting to the Web site of the human relationshipsregistering system offered by the server 1.

An input section of the personal computer 2 or 3 transmits registeringdata to the server 1 via the Internet 4. When a registration keyword orthe like is inputted, the server 1 retrieves necessary data. Theretrieved data are indicated on a display of the personal computer 2 or3.

The use of the human relationships registering system will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. FIG. 2. Is a schematic diagram showinghuman relationships data which are created by the human relationshipsregistering system. FIG. 3 shows an example of a Web page used forentering the Web site offered by the server 1. FIG. 4 shows an exampleof a Web page used for registering a personal data of a new member atthe human relationships registering system. FIG. 5 shows an example of aWeb page an existing member uses for confirming a personal data of a newmember. FIG. 6 shows an example of a Web page used for retrieving datain the human relationships registering system. FIG. 7 is an example of aWeb page used to show retrieved results.

A new member is registered in the human relationships registering system(called the “system” hereinafter) as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Forconvenience of description, it is assumed that an existing member A withthe personal computer 2 (called the “computer 2”) is going to introducea new member B who has the personal computer 3 and wishes to enter thesystem.

When the new member B enters the system by himself or herself, he or sheactivates the browser of the computer 3, inputs a Web site address andgains access to the server 1 via the Internet 4. The computer 3 receivesthe Web page 21 as shown in FIG. 3 from the server 1 and indicates it onthe display. The new member B clicks a new registration button 25 on theWeb page 21, so that a signal is transmitted to the server 1. Thecomputer 3 receives the Web page 31 as shown in FIG. 4 from the server 1and indicates it on the display.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 22 denotes a column to input anidentification code, and reference numeral 23 denotes a column to inputa password. By the way, the identification code and the password areinputted in the columns 22 and 23 when an existing member gains accessto the server 1. Thereafter, the existing member can access the server 1after pushing an OK button 24.

Referring to FIG. 4, the new member B enters his or her name 32,occupation 34, address 35, telephone number 36, e-mail address 37,technical field 38 and password 40 as well as the introducer's name 33.Confirming the entered data, the new member B clicks an OK button 39.Thereafter, the data will be transmitted to the server 1 via theInternet 4.

The computer 2 of the introducer A (i.e. the existing member A) receivesWeb page 41 as shown in FIG. 5 from the server 1 in response to ane-mail. The Web page 41 indicates the new member B's name, occupation,technical field in columns 42, 43 and 44. Confirming the contents, theintroducer A clicks a confirmation button 45 on the Web page 41.Thereafter, a confirmation signal is sent to the server 1. In responseto the confirmation signal, the server 1 stores the new member B'spersonal data and password in correlation with the introducer A. FIG. 4shows only some examples of data to be stored with respect to the newmember B. The following data may be added: a new member's age, academicbackgrounds, occupational backgrounds, qualifications and so on. Theentered data can he updated in the server 1 whenever there are changesafter the registration.

Alternatively, the introducer A may register the new member B. In thiscase, the introducer A enters the personal data of the new member B(shown in FIG. 4) using his computer 2 in order to send them to theserver 1. Thereafter, the computer 3 of the new member B receives thepersonal data from the server 1 by an e-mail. Confirming the receiveddata, the new member B returns the confirmation signal to the server 1.Thus, the new member B will be registered in the server 1.

Further, when receiving an e-mail address of the new member B from theintroducer A, the server 1 may send an e-mail to the new member B inorder to urge the new member B to register his or her personal data.Upon receiving the personal data of the new member B, the server 1stores the received data in correlation with the introducer A's name andso on.

The new member's data are confirmed by the introducer, and are stored incorrelation with the introducer. The server 1 creates humanrelationships data and a human relationships diagram showing the humanrelationships on the basis of the relationships between the new memberand the introducer. At the time of registration, a new member isassigned an identification code (ID No.).

The registered member can establish relationships with existing members,and obtain a relationship coefficient indicating degrees ofrelationships. For this purpose, members may send protocol e-mails toparticular existing members. For instance, a sender may indicate that heor she respects or admires an existing member and wishes to establishrelationships with the existing member, and so on. Such a protocole-mail may be sent to the existing member as an e-mail via the server 1.In response to the protocol e-mail, the existing member may meet thesender's request, and establish the relationships with the sender.Therefore, the sender can be related to the receiver (i.e. the existingmember), and obtain a relationships coefficient. As will be describedlater, the relationships coefficient is maximum when the relationshipsare directly established between members while the relationshipscoefficient becomes smaller when the relationships are indirectlyestablished via other members. In other words, it is possible toobjectively known a degree of relationships on the basis of therelationships coefficients.

The human relationships registering system shown in FIG. 1 and the humanrelationships diagram will be utilized as described hereinafter.

The server 1 creates a human relationships diagram as shown in FIG. 2 onthe basis of the basic data in which members are registered incorrelation with one another, and on the basis of agreements betweenmembers who have exchanged protocol e-mails. The server 1 sends thehuman relationships diagram to the computer 3. In FIG. 2, referencenumerals 11 to 20 denote members, and lines denote members who arecorrelated with one another after exchanging protocol e-mails andagreeing to establish relationships. Further, relationships coefficientsof the correlated members may be indicated in the human relationshipsdiagram. [0061] Relationships coefficients are updated each time newhuman relationships are established between registered members. Theupdated relationship coefficients are stored in the server 1. Therefore,latest relationships can be known even after relationships are changedbetween registered members.

Referring to FIG. 2, the member 13 is directly related to the members11, 14, 15, 16 and 18 while the member 13 is indirectly related to themembers 12, 17, 19 and 20. Further, it is possible to indicate all themembers having relationships coefficients which are larger than apredetermined value. Still further, it is possible to indicateoccupations and technical fields of members.

The following describe how the human relationships registering system isactually operated with reference to FIGS. 3, 6 and 7. It is assumed herethat the member B activates a browser of the computer 3 and connects tothe server 1 via the Internet 4. The Web page 21 (shown in FIG. 3) isindicated on the display of the computer 3. The member B enters his orher identification code (ID No.) and password on the columns 22 and 23via the input section, and clicks the OK button 24. The input data aresent to the server 1, which confirms whether the identification codeagrees with the password, and indicates a Web page 57 (shown in FIG. 6)on the display of the computer 3.

The identification codes are usually assigned to the members by theserver 1. Alternatively, members' e-mail addresses may be used asidentification codes.

In order to know the human relationships of the member 13 (shown in FIG.2), the member B enters the data concerning the member 13 on the columns52 to 55, clicks a retrieve button 56. Then, the Web page 61 (shown inFIG. 7) is indicated on the display of the computer 3, and indicates oncolumns 63 to 67 the members 11, 15, 18, 12, 17 and so on who arerelated to the member 13. The occupations and relationship coefficientsof the members 11, 15, 18, 12, 17 and so on are indicated on columns 70and 71. In this case, it is possible to indicate only the members whoserelationship coefficients exceed the predetermined value. A plurality ofretrieval keywords may be input in the columns 52 to 55. Further, theWeb page 61 may indicate technical fields and so on of the relatedmembers.

In order to retrieve data concerning members having particularoccupations or engaged in particular technical fields, the member Benters keywords of the particular occupations or technical fields in thecolumns 52 to 55. The entered data are sent to the server 1, whichretrieves desired data and indicates them on the computer 3.Alternatively, personal data of the retrieved members may be indicatedby double clicking the columns 63 to 67.

Further, the relationship coefficients may be used as the keywords forthe retrieval. In other words, it is possible to retrieve members whoare related to a particular member (who may be a retrieving member) andhave the relationships coefficient of a particular value.

According to the invention, it is possible to get acquainted withspecialists in various particular fields by indicating occupations andtechnical fields of members with the human relationships diagram.Therefore, the invention is useful in order to obtain expert knowledgeor information. In short, the human relationships diagram can be appliedas one of effective business measures.

Referring to the indicated relationships coefficients of members, somemembers who are not directly related to a desired member shown in thehuman relationship diagram can find an introducer (another member)related to the desired member.

The relationships coefficients will be described in detail. FIGS. 8( a)to 8(c) show examples of human relationship diagrams created as humanrelationships data. The human relationships change from a state (a) to astate (b) and to a state (c). In these drawings, characters M, I, D, Sand N denote members who are connected by lines when relationships areestablished therebetween.

Referring to FIG. 8( a), the member M is directly related to the memberI, and is indirectly related to the members D and S. The term “directly”means that the relationship is established between the members M and Iby exchanging the protocol e-mails therebetween. The term “indirectly”means that the member M has no direct relationship with the members Dand S. In short, the member M is related to the members D and S via themember I.

In FIG. 8( b), the members M and D are directly related to each other byexchanging the protocol e-mails.

FIG. 8( c) shows that the member N is directly related to the member Iby exchanging the protocol e-mails, and is indirectly related to themembers M, D and S via the member I.

FIGS. 9( a) to 9(c) are tables showing examples of relationshipscoefficients of the members stored in the server 1. These tablescorrespond to FIGS. 8( a) to 8(c), respectively. Characters ID-M, ID-I,ID-D, ID-S and ID-N denote the identification codes of the members M, I,D, S and N. The figures in FIGS. 9( a) to 9(c) are the relationshipcoefficients between members.

A maximum relationships coefficient “1.0” is assigned when members aredirectly related to each other. The relationships coefficient “1.0” ishalved as the number of intermediate members increases. In short, arelationship coefficient “0.5” is assigned to a first member and a thirdmember when a first member is related to a third member via a secondmember who is directly related to the first member. A minimumrelationship coefficient “0.25” is assigned to a first member and afourth member when the first member is related to the fourth member viathe second member and the third member who is directly related to thesecond member.

Referring to FIG. 9( a), the relationships coefficients assigned to themember M are “1.0” based on direct relationship to the member I, “0.5”based on relationship to the member D via the member I, “0.25” based onrelationship to the member S via the members I and D.

In the example shown in FIG. 9( b), if the member M is directly relatedto the member D (by exchanging the protocol e-mails), the relationshipscoefficient is changed to “1.0” between the members M and D. Further,the relationships coefficient is changed to “0.5” between the member Mand the member S who is directly related to the member D. Needless tosay, the relationship coefficient remains “1.0” between the member M andI who are directly related.

As shown in FIG. 9( c), the relationships coefficient “1.0” is assignedto the member N who is directly related to the member I. Therelationships coefficient “0.5” is assigned to the member N who isrelated to the members D and M via the member I. The relationshipscoefficient “0.25” is assigned to the member N who is related to themember S via the members I and D.

As described above, it is possible to objectively know degrees of thehuman relationships on the basis of the relationship coefficients. Thefollowing describe a case in which the member S (shown in FIG. 8( a))retrieves data of existing members using a keyword “law” representing atechnical field.

FIG. 10 shows an example of personal data of the members M, I, D and Swhich are stored in the server 1. In response to the keyword “law”entered by the member S, the server 1 retrieves and outputs dataconcerning the members M and I who are practicing the law. In this case,the relationships coefficients between the member S and the members Mand I (shown in FIG. 8( a)) may be also indicated. This enables themember S to check the presence of the member whose relationshipcoefficient is high to the member S. Further, the server I may indicatea human relationships diagram concerning the members S, M and I (shownin FIG. 8( a)). On the basis of the human relationships diagram, themember S who is retrieving the data can confirm the degree ofrelationships with the members M, I and himself or herself For example,the member S can know that he or she is accessible to the member I viathe member D who is directly related to the members I and S.

When a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM which storesthe program for executing the human relationships registering method ofthe invention is used, another computer (not shown) can function as aserver by reading the stored program similarly to the server 1.

Although the invention has been described with respect to one embodimentthereof, it will be understood that various modifications or alterationsare possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.For instance, a plurality of computers may be connected to a serverusing a dedicated line such as a LAN in place of the Internet. The Webpages are simply shown as examples, and may be configured as desired.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION

The invention is effective and useful when persons create humanrelationships data in order to get acquainted with specialists invarious particular fields, and obtain expert knowledge or information.

According to the invention, the relationships coefficients are notassigned until relationships are established between members aftermutual agreements are reached. The invention actively assists persons toestablish wide and close relationships between members registered in thehuman relationships registering system.

Further, when some member retrieves data on existing members,relationship coefficients of the retrieving member and the existingmembers whose data are being retrieved are indicated. The retrievingmember can select at least members who are close to him or her.

Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the presentinvention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is thereforeto be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, theinvention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically describedherein.

1. An apparatus including a server coupled to a communication networkand configured to establish and update relationships between membersregistered to a relationships registering system coupled to thecommunication network, the apparatus comprising: a database configuredto store personal attribute information of the members and directrelationship data indicating a direct relationship between at least someof the members; a message communicator configured to communicate via thecommunication network a relationship request from a first member toanother member indicating that the first member wishes to establish adirect relationship with the another member, and a relationshipacceptance from the another member to the first member indicatingacceptance of the first member's relationship request, therebyestablishing a direct relationship between the first member and theanother member; and a relationship identifier configured to search thedatabase specifically for one or more introducing members that aredirectly related to both the first member and a second member, andcommunicate to the first member via the communication network at least aportion of the personal attribute information of at least a subset ofthe one or more introducing members, and after a third member that isalready directly related to the first member becomes directly related toat least one fourth member, search the database specifically for the atleast one fourth member and communicate to the first member via thecommunication network at least a portion of the personal attributeinformation of the at least one fourth member and also an indication ofthe direct relationship established between the third member and the atleast one fourth member.